God, a savvy embrace of technology, and a unique artistic vision have been the driving forces in Don Omar's success, the urban music star told a packed house today (April 22) at the Billboard Latin Music Conference in Miami.
The artist and founder of his Orfanato label told the audience at the Eden Roc Hotel that he learned to sing during his early career as a preacher for a youth congregation in Puerto Rico.
It was there that William Omar Landron learned that "words can move the hearts of thousands of people. I started to write Christian songs when I was 20 or 21. At 23 I decided to follow my dream."
It was then that Don Omar was born, and the artist who has been one of reggaeton's core artists hasn't stopped evolving. The latest chapter in his story is "Idon," a concept album out on Universal April 28 that documents his transformation into a bionic being.
That's not just an artistic motif. Dressed in a slick gray business suit and shorn of his trademark braids, Don Omar emphasized the need to connect with fans on their phones and computers during his keynote.
He said he checks the traffic on his Web sites when he wakes up every morning, and cited a figure of 700,000 weekly visits to his MySpace page.
"Music nowadays isn't about who sings best," he said. "It's about, what am I giving to my fans so they go to their computers again and look for me?"
His physical CDs will contain a code for exclusive content, including a bonus track with former rival Daddy Yankee.
Next up for Don Omar: an iPhone app to be released in May, as well as a pin drive with exclusive bonus content. He's also just finished shooting the film "Los Bandoleros," with his "Fast & the Furious" co-stars Vin Diesel and Tego Calderon, in the Dominican Republic.
"It was one of the strangest calls of my life," recalled Don Omar with a laugh, of the time Vin Diesel called to recruit him for "Fast & the Furious." The movie star "tried to speak in Spanish, 'que pasa, mi gente'?"
But a friendship and a new career path were born, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars in box office. "He opened up a world for me that I didn't know I would like so much. I never prepared myself as an actor or studied to be an actor. That time has come," he said.
Not forgetting his roots, Don Omar is also funding the opening of a new church and music education center in Puerto Rico. "The Bible said, 'Teach the children, even when you get old.'"
0 comments:
Post a Comment